By Chinwendu Obienyi

BEARISH sentiment sustained its dominance on the equities segment of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) and with stocks bowing to profit-taking, leaving most investors hurt with total loss of about N82 billion in three consecutive trading sessions.

The situation was not unexpected as analysts had projected that this week’s transactions will be mixed amid weak activity levels and no discernible catalyst to boost activity. Daily Sun investigations reveal that on resumption of trading activities, the market’s All Share Index (ASI) gained 0.14 per cent following price upticks in highly capitalised stocks with investors gaining N32 billion.

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Further analysis of the performance of the market showed that Tuesday and Wednesday’s session saw the return of the bears as the ASI fell by 0.01 and 0.02 per cent respectively. Thursday’s session saw the ASI dropping 0.32 per cent to close at 43,108.77 points while market capitalisation declined by N71 billion to close at N22.494 trillion.

Activity level on the bourse showed that the volume of stocks traded stood at 266.11 million shares valued at N4.21 billion which changed hands in 3,905 deals. This is in contrast with 243.185 million shares valued at N3.746 billion in 3777 deals recorded in the previous trading session. Commenting on the performance of the market, Analysts at Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage firm said,

“Sentiment in the market continues to trend bearish. Therefore, we anticipate another mixed session tomorrow, with a negative tilt amid weak activity levels and no discernible catalyst to boost activity.”